This I Believe

A poem written by Edgar A. Guest entitled Equipment states, “…You are the handicap you must face/you are the one who must choose your place ….”

I believe that you are the only one who can hold you back from being content with the person you are and achieving your goals.

Many people I encounter on a daily basis see me to be an unhappy person and it bothered me on occasions. They would ask me what was wrong and I would get frustrated because I was fine, or so I thought. At the beginning of my junior year in high school I realized that I spent a lot of my time comparing myself to other students, not only academically but also in lifestyle. I never felt good about my grades on tests if I knew someone made a higher grade. It was worse knowing that I had studied for hours and they had only studied for five minutes before class. When I would see other students driving brand new cars and wearing designer clothes, I would ask myself why I could not live their life. I would eat myself up about all of these things that I wanted and needed to be a happier person and frankly I was never satisfied.

In my Drama V Honors class we were learning to perform non-dramatic text and were assigned to perform a poem. I asked family members if they knew any poems that they really liked and my mother e-mailed Equipment. After reading it I realized that “God has equipped [me] for life…” It was evident that I may not have had better grades or clothes than other students, but I had everything I needed to gain good grades or designer clothes. I could study harder or practice new study habits. I could get a job and buy designer clothes. No one was discouraging me or abusing me. I was the only one holding me back. I was self-conscious and centered my life around other people.

I believe it is unhealthy to live everyday of your life comparing it to the life of someone else. The similarities and differences do not determine the outcome of your life, your happiness, or most importantly your worth. Live the life that you want to live, make your own decisions and do not let you get in your way.

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This week’s essay

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, lawyer Djenita Pasic enjoyed the peace of her religiously diverse country. But after the fall of communism and the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Pasic was forced to reevaluate her ideas about religion and tolerance. Click here to read her essay.